A Third Way? Well, at least a debate

To break with the mould a bit, I am not going to talk about the Terror Attacks in London, and how Iraq fits into that picture – if it even does. I suggest you check out Cherniak on Politics which is having a very interesting debate in the comments section.

Today Alberta released Moving ahead with better health care

Some of the highlights:

• Providing choice in hospital rooms and enhanced medical goods and services.
• Developing a Health Care Assurance Act for Albertans.
• Taking serious action on wellness.
• Making children's health a top priority.
• Improving access to mental health services.
• Implementing an Electronic Health Record for all Albertans.
• Expanding primary health care services.
• Improving access.
• Controlling spiralling drug costs.
• Improving the long-term care system.
• Increasing the number of health care providers.
• Improving health services in rural communities

We have already seen the Federal government come out and attack the new plan. We have had the premier of Ontario come out against the plan even before it was announced. All this negative reaction is against a plan that is calling for more choice, which promises that all persons will receive medically necessary treatment as per the status quo, while allowing for some (read “limited”) private involvement is being done in the name of the “public interest”. Despite the fact the Alberta proposal is, even in the vague form it was released in today, to the Left of many European models, it is already condemned and the usual suspect are crying, “the sky is falling”.

As far as I am concerned it is has been far too long since anyone even remotely challenged the status quo. We have seen provinces (i.e., Québec, Nova Scotia) allow private clinics to work, to help augment the public system, but we have never seen a single elected official state that without those private clinics, the public system would be in even worst shape. They rely on benefits of the limited private system, but never publicly state how important that system is to the public model.

It is time in Canada for us to ignore the fear tactics that are used by our federal government. We need a real debate, and we need real experimentation – such as what Alberta is preparing to do – to ensure that public system is able to provide a level of service that Canadians want to see universally provide, without crippling the ability of governments at all levels to bring in meaningful tax reform to increase quality of living and other social programs.